GREENVILLE, S.C. - Daniel Carr led with 27 points and six assists as the No. 23/T-25 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (24-6, 17-5 SAC) defeated Catawba College (20-10, 14-8 SAC), 104-95, in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Championship on Saturday night at Timmons Arena. The victory improved the Royals' current winning streak to 10 games and advanced Queens to the SAC Championship Game for the third time in four years.

Gavin Rains followed with 19 points and seven rebounds, Jamari Smith and Kenny Dye scored 16 apiece, Peanut Cunningham tallied 11 points with five rebounds, and Jachai Taylor netted 10 points.

After Catawba grabbed an 8-7 lead early on, Queens went on a 12-0 run, capped by a Cunningham 3-pointer that secured a 19-8 lead with 11:12 remaining in the first.

The Royals extended their lead to 14, 27-13, on a fastbreak score by Carr with 8:09 to play in the opening frame. After the Indians briefly cut into the lead, Carr hit a 3 to again stretch the lead to 14, just 40 seconds prior to the halftime buzzer. The Royals took a 48-35 lead into the locker room.
 
After a back-and-forth start to the second half, a 3-pointer by Devin Cooper pulled the Indians within two scores, 56-50, with 15:10 to go. Soon after, Catawba cut the Queens lead to three, before the Royals answered with run that included a four-point play by Van Turner Jr. to extend the lead to 12, 68-56, with 11:13 to go.

Five-straight points from Whitfield pulled the Indians back within seven, 68-61, with 10:26 remaining. However, the Royals persisted to their third 14-point lead, 81-67, with 7:28 to play. Catawba closed the gap to four, 94-90, after Terrence Whitfield connected on a timely 3 followed by a layup by Ben Zemonek with just 1:02 left to play.

Queens closed the game 10-for-10 at the free-throw line in the final minute to secure the victory.

Queens shot 56.1 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent from the 3-point line (5-12), and 69.4 percent at the free-throw line (25-36). The Royals committed just 10 turnovers and finished with a +10 turnover margin that resulted in 31 points off turnovers.

Catawba shot 57.4 percent from the floor, 42.3 percent from the 3-point line (11-26) and 66.7 percent at the free-throw line (14-21). The Indians outrebounded the Royals, 37-30.

Whitfield led all scorers with 31 points. Cooper followed with 17 points, Zemonek scored 13 points, and Malik Constantine tallied 13 points with nine rebounds.

The Royals return to action on Sunday versus No. 2/2 Lincoln Memorial University (31-1, 22-0 SAC) in the SAC Tournament Championship Game. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network.